$55m in budget for breast cancer awareness

FEDERAL Health Minister Tanya Plibersek has announced an extra $55 million in Tuesday's budget to broaden breast cancer screening targets and save lives.

AAPMay 12, 20136:17pm

THE federal government will launch a multimillion-dollar campaign to encourage older women to undergo breast cancer screening.

Health Minister Tanya Plibersek was in Sydney on Mother's Day to announce an extra $55.7 million in Tuesday's budget to expand the screening target group to include women aged 70 to 74.

Currently only women aged 50 to 69 get a mammogram reminder from BreastScreen Australia.

The new funding means another 70,000 women every year will get the letter.

The government hopes this will lead to the early detection and treatment of 600 extra breast cancer cases a year from 2016 onwards.

"Many people go without being reminded but I've got to say I'm one of those people who relies on the letter turning up in the mail for the other registers we have," Ms Plibersek told reporters on Sunday.

"This investment in expanding the target age range, picking up - we hope - an extra 600 cancers every year (when) they're more treatable, we hope that will save lives."

Cancer Australia CEO Helen Zorbas said the BreastScreen Australia program had already reduced breast cancer mortality by 25 per cent since its introduction.

"Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in Australia and with the ageing of the population more and more women are being diagnosed every year," she said.

"The strongest risk factor for breast cancer is getting older. So this announcement of increasing the target age range for women who participate in breast cancer screening from 69 to 74 is really welcome."

Ms Plibersek also announced $10,000 in government funding for the National Breast Cancer Foundation at the Mother's Day Classic, a nationwide fun run and the foundation's biggest single fundraiser.

This year organisers say more than 130,000 people across the country are walking or running as part of the event, which is on track to beat the previous fundraising record of $4 million.